I Just swear I have read about it before somewhere on the site...My perception may not be correct.

Grounding could be an issue...we stripped out one of the holes where you screw in the ground...but we tapped it back out so I dont see why it wouldnt work.

Will Check the red/purples and will have to verify voltage.

Double check your wire connections inside the box since you had to re-install all the wires.

If they are good, I'd be looking at the voltage regulator. The bilge isn't supposed to have voltage without the motor running. So if it has power with the engine off, something is shorting out, or back feeding.